Cyprus parliament unanimously approved on Thursday a resolution on the “Day of the Missing Persons” that it honours on October 29, pointing out the need to find out the fate of each missing person in Cyprus. At the same time, the House of Representatives reiterates its intention to take any necessary action in this direction.
Stressing that the issue of ascertaining the fate of missing persons is primarily a humanitarian issue and as such must be faced by all sides and by Turkey, the Parliament declares its faith and adherence to the principles of fundamental human rights and international legitimacy.
It also underlines that it will continue to provide all possible support to the work of the Committee on Missing Persons (CMP) in Cyprus.
The Parliament also expresses deep disappointment because despite the efforts, the issue of finding out the fate of all the missing Greek Cypriots, Turkish Cypriots and Greek citizens remains pending, noting the negative effect the passing of time has.
The Parliament reiterates its intention to undertake all necessary actions, in cooperation with the government of the Republic of Cyprus, to achieve Turkey’s compliance with the decisions of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), in relation to the obligation of the country to take measures and to cooperate in a substantial way, providing specific information for the effective clarification of the fate of each of the missing persons.
It also calls for a more active role by the parliaments of the permanent and non-permanent members of the United Nations Security Council, the Inter-Parliamentary Union, the European Parliament, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe and the Parliamentary Assembly of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe, in order to exert all possible influence on Turkey.
It calls on Turkey to take, immediately, those political decisions that will lead to the end of the drama of the families of the missing, by submitting all the information regarding burial grounds created by the Turkish army, to allow access and study of the military records of the Turkish invasion and to allow unhindered access of the CMP to carry out exhumations and further investigations in areas, which the country arbitrarily identifies as military zones.
Addressing the plenary, House of Representatives President Annita Demetriou, said that forty-eight years later, the body calls once again on Turkey to finally take responsibility and to cooperate effectively and humanely in providing evidence to ascertain the fate of the missing.
“Today we honour our missing persons, express our utmost respect and reaffirm our undivided support to their families: their agony is ours as well; the struggle of every family that defends the inalienable right to be informed about the fate of their loved one is also ours,” she said.
She also stressed the imperative and continuous need to collect information, so that it is possible to ascertain the fate of all the missing persons, as well as to exert pressure in all directions, so that Turkey, respecting the resolutions and decisions related to the issue of the missing persons, contributes in determining their fate.
Cyprus has been divided since 1974, when Turkish troops invaded and occupied 37% of its territory. Since then, the fate of hundreds of people remains unknown.
A Committee on Missing Persons has been established, upon agreement between the leaders of the two communities, with the scope of exhuming, identifying and returning to their relatives the remains of 492 Turkish Cypriots and 1,510 Greek Cypriots, who went missing during the inter-communal fighting of 1963-1964 and in 1974.
Source: Cyprus News Agency